Khaled Al-Jammali speaks to The New Zealand Herald about his escape from the Christchurch terror attacks last week and being reported as having died in the shootings. / Alan Gibson
The 28-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed 50 followers at two Christchurch mosques on Friday was seen standing outside a Hamilton mosque just two weeks earlier.
Waikato Muslim Association President Dr Asad Mohsin said two to three members of the Jamia Masjid Mosque in Claudelands saw a man lookinglike Brenton Tarrant wearing a cap and reading a newspaper near the fence surrounding the mosque two weeks ago.
Other people of the community also mentioned at a car boot sale at the mosque held on Sunday that they had seen Tarrant in Hamilton at that time. They believed he was staying at a motel only a few doors down from the mosque.
Mohsin said he was unsure exactly what day it was, but the man did not appear to be acting strangely.
"Very normal. I think this guy is very well trained. What we can know is that he would have done a lot of research before taking any action."
Boundary Court Motor Inn manager Vishal Taneja was unaware of Tarrant staying at the motel and did not have any records of a guest staying under that name. He said he could check the motel's CCTV footage if he had more details.
"If any of the people who saw him in Hamilton or believed he stayed here can give us the particular dates - like he came here in those two days. But it's been two weeks so we are not really sure what day he came."
However, Mohsin said, it was a strong reminder to the Hamilton Muslim community that it could have been them targeted instead of their Christchurch counterparts.
"It could have been us. Unless he was just planning to see what could be the bigger place or more number of people or whatever. I don't know the reason but it could have been us, that's for sure."
Mohsin said the community was still coming to terms with the shootings but had been bolstered by the love, support and affection shown by the wider Hamilton community.
A Police media spokesperson said they were making inquiries and encouraged anyone with any information that may be relevant to contact them.
